hurricane sandy. >>> scott, thank you very much. we continue our breaking news coverage. hurricane sandy lashing out at the east coast of the united states. streets are flooding. that's the least of it. beaches eroding. this is the real deal, sue. >> indeed it is, ty. i'm sue herera. welcome to "power lunch." we have reporters and live cameras spanned out from washington, d.c. all the way up to new england. but we're going to start with meteorologist todd gross for an update. >> it is still looking grim. basically the two important things to note about this storm are number one, it is transitioning right now in to an extra tropical storm. non-hurricane. it's doing so with a very deep central pressure. you see that 943 mb? that means it is 943 millibars. sounds technical? it means it is a really deep storm, even for a hurricane, and it is transitioning into a non-hurricane, and yet maintaining its strength. that's one important factor. the other important factor is take a look at the bends that this st